1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an absorbent article such as sanitary napkin, urine absorbent pad, auxiliary absorbent pad for diaper or the like, more particularly to an absorbent article which is superior in fit to the wearer's body and highly effective in preventing leakage of bodily waste toward the buttocks.
2. Description of the Related Art
If the liquid-receiving region of the absorbent article is stiff, the liquid-receiving region hardly fits on the wearer's skin, causing a clearance between the absorbent article and the wearer's skin. Therefore, the bodily waste sometimes leaks from the clearance. In order to prevent this, there have been developed absorbent articles having a cushion layer between a topsheet and an absorbent storage layer to improve the contact between the absorbent article and the wearer's skin.
For example, Patent Gazette of Japanese Patent No. 2784016 discloses an absorbent article having a cushion layer in its transversely central portion close to the rear end. In the absorbent article disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Gazette, the cushion layer is so flexible that the region having the cushion layer can fit into the gluteal fold of the wearer, thereby preventing discharged body fluid from flowing down the gluteal fold and leaking from the rear end of the absorbent article.
However, since the topsheet of the absorbent article disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Gazette is formed of a polyester thermal-bonded nonwoven fabric in which fibers are bonded to each other, the topsheet is less extensible. Therefore, when the topsheet is pressed from above, the topsheet resists it, so that the compressive force may not act on the cushion layer. Accordingly, the flexibility of the cushion layer cannot be fully exploited, so that the absorbent article can hardly fit on the wearer's skin, especially the uneven portions such as gluteal fold. As a result, the leakage of discharged body fluid from the rear end of the absorbent article cannot be effectively prevented.
In addition, since the topsheet formed of the polyester thermal-bonded nonwoven fabric is less extensible, it gives a stiff feel to the wearer's skin. This can never provide a satisfactory feel upon wearing.